The demand for “healthy” or “better for you” food and beverages continues as consumers become more health conscious. Following this trend, Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS) has agreed to acquire Bai brands, the maker of antioxidant and other “all natural” drinks for $1.7 billion. Founded in 2009, Bai has about $300 million in revenue and 373 […]

Private equity firms are increasingly acquiring minority interests in public companies in order to grow, according to the Wall Street Journal. The landscape for PE is changing. Firms are facing tough competition from strategic acquirers who have cash on their balance sheets and are typically willing to spend more on an acquisition. At the same […]

Minority investments are a creative way to think about transactions, one that is often overlooked. When we create a transaction with a company, there is a spectrum of possible involvements—everything from an informal strategic alliance to a 100% acquisition. A minority investment is somewhere in between these extremes. Typically consisting of a quarter to a third […]

On yesterday’s M&A Express videocast, The Hidden Power of Minority Ownership, I mentioned Marcus Lemonis, a businessman who turns around struggling businesses in the CNBC show, the Profit. I’ve written about Lemonis before on the blog, and how he really prefers to use minority ownership so that the founders or original owners of the business continue to […]

On September 23 we will be launching the second series of M&A Express. The new series will feature the following videocasts: The Hidden Power of Minority Ownership Cultural Due Diligence Register for the complete series We are also pleased to announce previous videocasts from our first series of M&A Express are now available online whenever you wish […]

“I always take control, but I did not buy 51 percent. Control doesn’t have to be 51 percent. I think people get confused by that.” Marcus Lemonis comments about minority investment on Squawkbox are spot-on. When asked to elaborate, he explained, “I just document everything: full financial control, full operational control. I can have 10 […]

Did you know about 97% of acquisitions are small to mid-sized companies? Acquisition is an effective tool that can be used by companies of any size, not just those in the Fortune 500. To see how, watch my interview with Matthew Lesko. When we think of mergers and acquisitions, we often only think of mergers […]

During our last webinar, “A New Look at Due Diligence,” I fielded an intriguing question I’d like to share with you. I firmly believe that due diligence and integration fit hand-in-glove, so I was excited to receive this integration query. Q: What are the differences, if any, in integration of a 100% acquisition and a […]

Last week Google acquired a minority stake in consumer loan company Lending Club. The exact amount Google invested was not disclosed, but it was part of a $125 million round of financing for the Lending Club. Lending Club is an online company that uses technology to match borrowers with lenders. Since its inception in 2007, […]

Although I deal primarily with mergers and acquisitions, acquisition is simply one pathway to external growth and should be considered in a broader context. One of the pathways to external growth to consider is minority interest ownership. Microsoft’s proposed buyout of Dell demonstrates many of the benefits of minority interest ownership, a surprisingly neglected tactic. […]

More and more I am seeing creative deal structuring in today’s M&A market. This comes as little surprise. The credit markets remain quiet; companies are not growing their way out of financial stress and smaller firms often finding themselves squeezed by larger companies who offer more products and better terms. So what is a small […]

Recent news indicates that the federal government will “prop up” the major banks if they continue to falter. This has some worried that these large financial institutions will be “nationalized”. The government says that this is not the case: The strong presumption of the Capital Assistance Program is that the banks should remain in private […]